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18 Aug 2017 3:17:25pm

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"(W)hat would ordinarily reside in the stately ordered domain of the transcendental is completely arbitrary, self-contradictory, and destructive; these are precisely the encounters that his major literary protagonists in The Trial, Josef K and in The Castle, now abbreviated to K…. These are the kinds of encounters that these figures have with the institutions of order and law."

The impersonal ("transcendental") is not evil. It is therefore not something that should be avoided.

Trouble arises, and the world becomes Kafkaesque, when individuals whose societal roles require them to assume the impersonal character of, for example, the institution fail to do so. Instead, they opt to create a personalised environment or clique that will not question their judgement.

In such an environment reason is shunned, as are facts, evidence, due process, personalities, etc. - literally everything that threatens the clique! All too often this is done in the name of the institution, so the victim seeking redress or acceptance is left with the impression that his world, or the world, as we are inclined to extrapolate when we are being victimised, is "completely arbitrary, self-contradictory, and destructive."

Furthermore, the victim has to always remain outside of this corruption. This is necessary to likewise protect the clique, but the victim must never be allowed to believe he is an outsider, for that, too, would threaten the clique by making him and others aware that there is an inside, that corruption is prevalent. Hence, Joseph K is arrested for being an outsider but never imprisoned. Instead, he is promised support, a fair hearing, justice, an appeal, etc. His trial never ends.

The hope of the clique is that the victim will always remain hopeful his day will come or, should he decide to revolt, he'll scapegoat the impersonal institution or system and thus empower the clique even more, and provide them with the justification for his initial arrest.

This is called institutional or systemic harassment. Outside of an institutional setting it is community-based harassment.

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